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“Alright! With that, we can wrap up today’s practice!” An exclaimed, before taking a sip of her water bottle. Despite her enthusiasm, there was a hint of exhaustion in the way she spoke. “Great job, you guys!”
“We have definitely been improving quite a bit lately”, Toya pointed out. The sky had already turned dark, the park now illuminated by the surrounding street lights. Recently, they have grown more familiar with the scenery of later nights, their practice sessions escalating in length and frequency in preparation for their next event.
“Yeah, you're right”, Kohane nodded in between breaths. A
ding
was then heard from her pocket. “Ah! My mom texted me to get home soon… Maybe I should get going then”, she said slowly walking away and waving. “See you later!”
“Speaking of which, I should return home too.” Toya added. “I’ll see you all tomorrow.” The lighter half of his hair glistened in the moonlight as he slowly disappeared around the corner. Saying their goodbyes to both of them, An and Akito sat down on the nearby bench, almost at the exact same time as one another.
“Aren’t ya headin’ home too, An?” asked Akito, still breathing heavily from their practice.
“I would, but it looks so pretty outside… I can’t let this go to waste, you know?” She looked up, leading Akito to do the same. The stars seemed quite a bit brighter than usual. Or maybe he just never paid attention to them before. “What about you?” An asked, snapping Akito back into the present.
“I’m just too tired to walk back right now, if I’m being honest”. For some reason, Akito felt as if he was lying saying that. Maybe An was right about the whole star thing. The sky matched her hair, so it really was no surprise she’d feel content under its company. Maybe that was the reason he felt content under its company too. Familiarity.
“I’m thirsty as hell, though…” he complained, turning his empty water bottle upside down to show An, only a few drops coming out.
“Want some of mine?” she offered, almost instantly, holding out her own bottle.
“Isn’t that kind of weird? I mean, like. Sharing saliva and stuff.”
“Kohane and I share drinks all the time!”
“Well she’s Kohane.”
“And you’re Akito. ”
“And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“That you can have some! We’re teammates after all, don’t want you dying of thirst on us,” An claimed, nearly shoving the bottle into his hands.
“Whatever. Thanks”, Akito said, reluctantly drinking the last few sips left of the bottle, passing it back to her.
“Of course you had to have the rest”, An whined, pretending to be upset. “Now what if I get thirsty…?”
“It’s not that deep, there’s literally a convenience store one block away we can go to”, Akito commented.
“Did you say ‘we’? I thought you were too tired to walk or whatever you said.”
Akito didn’t say anything. No matter what he said, he’d sound stupid. He could write a thirty page list of unfortunate activities he’d rather do than admit I only stayed because you did .
“Akiiiitoooo???” An shook his shoulder teasingly. Now, he kind of had to come up with something .
“Whatever, let’s just go. Maybe I was like, dehydrated or something. I dunno.” That was probably the dumbest excuse ever. He began to stand up, until he realized An wasn’t doing the same.
An hummed sassily, before opening her mouth again. “Never said I was thirsty right now… just wanted to see your reaction”, she chuckled.
“So we’re staying here…?” he deadpanned. Why was this girl acting so confusing today?
“I mean you can do whatever you want. I’m fine right here, though.”
“I’m just doing whatever you’re doing”. Oh. Wait. He didn’t mean to say that.
“So you’re only here because I am?” An hesitated.
“I mean…yeah. I guess so.” Akito mumbled quietly. There was still some truth in what he was saying, as he wouldn’t just randomly sit down here alone. But would he have stayed here if it were Kohane sitting down instead? Toya…?
There was a pause. He heard a soft exhale from An beside him. He couldn’t tell if that was the right thing to say, or if she was about to stand up and leave.
“I’m kinda glad, then.” An admitted quietly. “It’s not common that we have moments like these anymore with all the practice we’ve been having. Not just with you, but with anyone in our group…”
Akito paused for a bit longer than he should have. He never knew what to say whenever An got all sappy like this, but she kind of had a point with this. He needed to say something in response to this, after all. “I’ve never really thought of that before. I’ve always seen relaxation as like, something you do after everything’s over. Like after a big show.”
“That sounds like a very you thing to say”, An commented. “Unfortunately I’m forcing you to take a break right now, like it or not. But trust me, it’s worth it.” She smiled.
“Maybe you’re right”, he admitted hesitantly. A gust of wind suddenly sent a chill through Akito’s body, blowing his hair slightly. It must have gotten pretty late if the temperature had decreased this much. He pulled out his phone, the screen reading 9:21. That explained it. He looked over at An, who was nearly hugging herself. “It’s getting kinda cold out…” he pointed out.
An, not saying anything, inched closer to Akito.
“You good?” Akito questioned, noticing the subtle heat of her body, only a few inches away from him.
“Just chilly…” An yawned, resting her head against his shoulder, their bodies fully touching now. Akito felt his face heating up despite the cold of the night. His heartbeat began to beat noticeably more intensely. This shouldn’t be a good sign.
“Tired?” Akito asked her, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible despite the growing heat on his cheeks from this newfound physical contact.
“Nah, I just yawn when I’m cold. Dunno why, it’s weird”, An replied. Akito couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or not. Hesitantly, he wrapped her arm around her. He isn’t Kohane, but he hopes he can at least provide a little of the warmth she always gives her. That is, if his body doesn’t begin to shake. He takes a deep breath, trying to ground himself.
“You okay?” An asked softly, meaning Akito was likely breathing a bit too loudly.
“I just… don’t do this often”, he replied, telling the truth. He didn’t want to even try explaining what exactly he was feeling - he couldn’t even figure that out himself. He wanted to say something else, but he couldn’t arrange a second sentence quick enough without it sounding strange.
“I can tell”, An commented with a giggle.
“I-” Akito started, before sighing quietly. “Whatever.”
Their uncomfortable silence was unfortunately broken by the sound of Akito’s phone receiving a notification. Awkwardly, he used his free arm to retrieve it from his pocket. He was welcomed by several notifications from none other than Ena.
< akitooooo
< ur coming home soon right?? get me cheesecake
With a sigh, Akito awkwardly and slowly typed out a reply with his free hand.
fine >
He felt An’s head move, which was when he realized she had seen the whole thing. He heard a giggle from her side.
“Well, you saw that. She’s forcing me to leave, probably right now”. Akito complained, slowly removing his arm from her body.
“I can’t really blame her, to be honest.” An commented. “I wish I had a sibling to get me free food too…” she said quietly, as Akito began gathering his things.
“Nah, you don’t want one. It’s worse than it seems. Anyway, see ya later An,” He said quickly, beginning to walk away. As much as he wanted to complain about Ena’s sudden request, he felt a bit relieved from the awkward situation he would have stayed in.
But could he really leave?
He felt his wrist suddenly being grabbed.
“Wait, Akito”, An suddenly called out. She paused, giving Akito time to examine the changes in her face. What could she even want from him now? “This was, uh. Nice. Are you…. doing anything after you give Ena-san her cake?” She asked, awkwardly, elongating a few of her words.
Well, it was Friday after all. He could sleep in the next day if he had to. Even though that wasn’t what he planned to do. Even though he didn’t really feel like doing anything, he couldn’t really decline whatever she wanted. Not after what had just happened.
“Um…not really?
He noticed a smile slowly growing on An’s face after he had said that.
“Meet me at Weekend Garage when you’re done”, she declared.
Akito couldn’t help but grin at her sudden invitation. He couldn’t say no, yet he didn’t really want to say that anyway. He nodded, slowly turning away again. Maybe the awkwardness would be set aside. Maybe this would become something. Or maybe it wouldn’t. But deep inside, the former appealed much more to him.
His footsteps slowly grew faster with every new thought.